EV demand is actually booming, just not for Tesla (TSLA)

After years of hype and anticipation, Tesla (TSLA) finally entered the Indian market this summer. The result was a resounding thud.

Since launching in July, the Elon Musk-led automaker has shipped just over 600 cars, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

And expectations for the rest of the year aren’t much better. Tesla projects no more than 500 additional vehicles headed to India before December.

That’s a brutal debut in a country that just surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation and is rapidly embracing electric vehicles.

Priced out of reach

Analysts say the flop was foreseeable. Import tariffs pushed the cost of an entry-level Tesla above 6 million rupees ($68,000). That’s far beyond the budgets of India’s overwhelmingly value-conscious car buyers.

"So much hype was created," wrote SEBI-registered analyst Equity Insights Elite on X. "India is an extremely value-conscious market, [and] not easy to crack."

Tesla disappoints with just 600 bookings

So much hype was created

Prices are too high because of the import duties

India is an extreme value conscious market, not easy to crack pic.twitter.com/jV6Xhx5pbf

undefined Equity Insights Elite (@EquityInsightss) September 2, 2025

Local voices echoed that criticism. Rally driver Rattan Dhillon argued Tesla should have prioritized affordable EV charging infrastructure before trying to sell luxury cars.

EV demand is booming, just not for Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla’s flop doesn’t reflect a lack of demand for EVs in India. Quite the opposite, the country is now one of the world’s fastest-growing EV markets.

In fiscal 2024–25, Indians bought more than 2.03 million electric vehicles — 7.8% of all automobile sales, according to EVReporter. That’s a 64% jump from the prior year.

Passenger EV sales nearly doubled in July, up 93% year over year to 15,528 units, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations reported. By year-end, over 6.2 million EVs were already on India’s roads, according to JMK Research.

Local automakers have captured the opportunity. Tata Motors and Ola Electric are winning market share with cheaper, mass-market EVs designed for Indian buyers. Tesla, meanwhile, looks stuck in a luxury lane few can afford.

India isn’t Tesla’s only headache. In Europe, where EV adoption continues to grow, Tesla's market share is slipping fast.

As InvestorsObserver reported, Tesla’s sales plunged 40% in July, its seventh straight monthly drop. Since the start of the year, its market share has collapsed to just 1.2%. Chinese rival BYD, by contrast, is pressing ahead and growing its footprint.